ABC’s Jon Karl Says Mulvaney Statement Suggests ‘He Himself’ Was Lying in Infamous Quid Pro Quo Presser

Josh FeldmanJan 27th, 2020, 2:32 pm
 

ABC News’ Jon Karl called out Mick Mulvaney’s statement today on John Bolton’s book by recalling comments of Mulvaney’s that have become significant in the impeachment trial.

Last night’s significant report on Bolton’s book in The New York Times contained the following claim from the former White House national security advisor about the current White House acting chief of staff:

And the acting White House chief of staff, Mick Mulvaney, was present for at least one phone call where the president and Mr. Giuliani discussed the ambassador, Mr. Bolton wrote. Mr. Mulvaney has told associates he would always step away when the president spoke with his lawyer to protect their attorney-client privilege.

Mulvaney responded in a statement today through his lawyer denying that Bolton ever told him of “any concerns” surrounding that August conversation, adding, “Nor did Mr. Mulvaney ever have a conversation with the president or anyone else indicating that Ukrainian military aid was withheld in exchange for a Ukrainian investigation of Burisma, the Bidens, or the 2016 election.”

Karl spoke with George Stephanopoulos today about when the White House was aware of Bolton’s manuscript and remarked that what Bolton alleges is “directly contradictory to a central point of defense” by the president’s team.

As for Mulvaney’s statement, Karl called it “extraordinary” and remarked, “Not only is Mulvaney calling Bolton a liar there, he seems to be suggesting that he himself wasn’t truthful,” before bringing up the press conference in question.

Last year, during that now-infamous press conference, Mulvaney defended the president’s actions with respect to Ukraine as reporters, including Karl, pressed him on the matter. At one point, Karl said, “To be clear, what you just described is a quid pro quo, it is. Funding will not flow unless the investigation into the Democrats’ server happens as well.”

At the time, Mulvaney responded by saying “we do that all the time with foreign policy” and citing other examples. Hours later, Mulvaney put out a statement accusing the media of “misconstru[ing] his comments” and saying, “Let me be clear, there was absolutely no quid pro quo between Ukrainian military aid and any investigation into the 2016 election.”

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Josh Feldman - Senior Editor

Josh Feldman is a Senior Editor at Mediaite. Email him here: josh@mediaite.com Follow him on Twitter: @feldmaniac